I am creating a Personal Learning Network (PLN) that I can use to reach professors and professionals in the theatre and dance world and connect with what they’re learning and educating others with. Theatre arts coupled with education is declining in schools across America due to budget cuts and ignorance around theatre and the real life applications theatre can have on an individual. I want to be an advocate for theatre in schools and make sure theatre has a place in the education system so it can change the lives of students as it changed mine. I have thought about my work with a PLN from IDS Intro and while twitter was great for learning how a PLN can work for me I wanted to try to use another social media tool to grow my PLN- Instagram. I have learned how to market instagram for myself and a company in previous classes and I know how beneficial it can be to use. And as the arts are visual, using Instagram makes the most sense.
The instagram account is @artsadvocatealicia and I have already started following several big accounts in the theatre world a well as a local arts advocate who frequently posts and could be a very good in on a local level. I will be regularly posting and sharing information relating to arts in schools and trying to promote and advocate for theatre arts education. You can click here to follow it!
With this PLN I will also be documenting my work on my Applied Project/ capstone/ big senior project. I am doing a giant project for it that is related to what I’m trying to use my PLN for so combining the two is a very effective way to show my advocacy for theatre arts beyond posting about it, and advertise for the event.
I plan to be posting a full post at least once a week, and story posts a few times a week. I will aos be saving the stories as highlights for documentation’s sake. I plan to follow 1-5 people every week. I will also be using many hashtags relating to theatre and theatre arts advocacy to help spread awareness of my page and gain followers.
I hope that this plan will help me make a difference within the world of theatre arts and education, or at least spread more awareness on the subject so maybe my work can inspire someone else to take action. And I hope by documenting my work on my applied project that other schools will see what I accomplished and repeat it in their own communities.